Friday, 28 May, 2010
Last week, we found out that the Starcraft II beta would officially end on May 31st. Well, not anymore. According to an official forum post, the beta has now been extended until June 7th, giving gamers an extra week to practice their gameplay strategies, or to play some of the new custom games made available since Patch 13.
They say the reason for the extension is to “prepare for the final phase of beta testing”, but I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the in-game lag everyone is experiencing lately. Perhaps they’re trying to fix this bug before the final product is released, because if they don’t fix it by then, I’m pretty sure a lot more people will be flaming on their forums.
Monday, 17 May, 2010
To all who have been invited to the beta, or are planning to get beta access (through pre-order or other measures):
The Starcraft II beta will come to a close on May 31st. According to the official post on Blizzard forums, the game will be taken down in two weeks, for “hardware and software configuration in preparation for the final phase of beta testing”. They’re not being very specific on what hardware and software changes they’re making, but I think fixing their VoIP is one problem they’re going to fix.
They plan on bringing the beta back online a couple of weeks before the game’s official launch date of July 27th.
From the timing of the beta “relaunch”, I’m going to also assume that server capacity testing is also something they’re trying to test their hardware on.
Better get your strategies mastered. You’ll be on Starcraft II withdrawals for a month after they shut it down. if you’re still looking to pre-order for a beta key, I’d suggest best Buy for our USA audience. They send their keys within minutes, and you’ll get a $10 certificate towards a future purchase.